CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- As the burden of losses has buried him, Bears coach Matt Nagy has nothing left to say that can save his fate.
Toward the end of his fourth and likely final year leading the Bears, Nagy is a defeated man. He has experienced defeat in eight of his team's last nine games, including the Bears' 17-9 setback to the Vikings on Monday night at Soldier Field. It was another loss that embodied his tenure – a strong Bears defensive performance went to waste because of a poor offensive effort and far too many sloppy miscues.
“It starts with me and it ends with me,” Nagy said. “I accept complete responsibility for that.”
Those comments applied to more than just the Bears’ latest loss, which dropped them to 4-10 and officially eliminated them from playoff contention. They also symbolized Nagy's tenure in Chicago. He won AP Coach of the Year honors in 2018 after a breakthrough 12-4 regular season that included an NFC North crown, but the Bears have struggled since. Nagy now has a 32-30 record in the regular season and 0-2 mark in the playoffs. Success seems so long ago.
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On Monday night, the Bears arrived at Soldier Field a desperate, depleted team ready to unleash some frustration. Then they channeled that in the wrong ways.
On a third-and-7 play with 1:13 left in the first quarter, Bears safety Deon Bush – one of four fill-in players starting in the secondary due to COVID-19 issues with the team – was penalized for an unnecessary roughness penalty while attempting to break up a pass intended for Vikings tight end Tyler Conklin.
Nagy voiced his displeasure toward the officiating crew both after the play and during a timeout at the end of the first quarter, earning himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for what referee Scott Novak later called "inappropriate language."
The Bears were penalized three times for unnecessary roughness during the game, including in the third quarter when rookie offensive tackle Teven Jenkins confronted several Vikings defenders after Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields was hit while scrambling out of bounds.
“I told him I liked what he did there and I appreciate him,” Fields said of Jenkins. “But at the same time, he's got to be smart.
“I definitely love the mindset, and I love him sticking up for me. I think that's what we need more of.”
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Jenkins' emotions didn't go over as well with all of his teammates. Veteran tackle Germain Ifedi approached Jenkins and gave him a shove in the back after the play. Over on the home sideline, running back Tarik Cohen – who has been on the physically-unable-to-perform list all season – had to be calmed down by injured veteran tackle Jason Peters after an apparent interaction with members of the Bears’ offensive line.
It reached a point in which Nagy had to address his players during the game.
“We had to reel it back in,” Nagy said. “But this is an emotional game, and it would be one thing if the team came out and just said, ‘You know what? We're four and -- we've got four wins on the year. We're 4-9 and we're just at a point where we're just going to check out.’ Our guys don't do that. That's why you get emotional.”
Throughout a game in which they felt bitter, the Bears featured their same dysfunctional offense. They had scored just three points in seven trips into Vikings territory before the final play of the game, a 19-yard touchdown from Fields to tight end Jesper Horsted.
The Bears posted 370 yards of offense and came away with just nine points to show for it. They were 2-of-12 on third-down conversions, 2-of-5 on fourth-down conversions and 1-of-5 in the red zone. Those struggles came while Chicago’s defense held the Minnesota to 193 yards of offense by containing star running back Dalvin Cook and star receiver Justin Jefferson.
“That’s been the story of the year,” Fields said of the miscues on offense. “Just shooting ourselves in the foot.
“It’s frustrating at this point.”
There are three games remaining in this lost season for the Bears, and it’s not a matter of whether change is coming but instead how far it will reach.
Nagy’s fate is all but certain. The futures of many key players are in doubt as well. And this Bears team that was built to be a contender recognizes clearly that its end is near.
On Monday night, the Bears poured themselves into a game that proved to best represent what they really are – a sloppy, inconsistent football team. What more could they say at this point?
“It was an emotional game,” Nagy said. “It sucks losing.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.